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Chapters
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Chapters
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Billy Budd has 30 chapters.
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Chapters30 items
Chapter 1
The narrator introduces Billy Budd, a young sailor of striking physical beauty and natural goodness, who works aboard a merchant ship called the Rights-of-Man.
Chapter 2
The narrator pauses the story to describe Billy in more detail and to complicate the picture slightly. Billy is physically perfect but has one flaw: under extreme stress, he stutt…
Chapter 3
The narrator steps back further to give historical context. The story is set during the late 1790s, a period of war between Britain and revolutionary France.
Chapter 4
The narrator introduces Captain the Honorable Edward Fairfax Vere, the commander of the Bellipotent. Vere is a thoughtful, well-read man who is respected but considered a bit ecce…
Chapter 5
The narrator introduces John Claggart, the master-at-arms aboard the Bellipotent. Claggart is responsible for maintaining discipline among the crew.
Chapter 6
This chapter focuses on the character of Claggart, the master-at-arms aboard the Bellipotent. Melville steps back from the action to examine what kind of man Claggart is, and the…
Chapter 7
Melville continues examining Claggart and his relationship to Billy. The chapter explores why Claggart, who has no personal injury from Billy, has developed such a strong antipath…
Chapter 8
A minor character, an afterguardsman, approaches Billy at night and tries to recruit him into what sounds like a potential mutiny plot.
Chapter 9
Billy, troubled by the nighttime encounter, goes to Dansker, an old experienced sailor he trusts, and describes what happened.
Chapter 10
Life aboard the Bellipotent continues, and Billy tries to stay out of trouble. He is anxious after the strange nighttime encounter but does not change his behavior in any meaningf…
Chapter 11
This chapter digs into Claggart's psychology, trying to explain why someone would hate Billy without any real provocation.
Chapter 12
The narrator continues examining Claggart's inner world, focusing on how he relates to Billy. Claggart actually admires Billy's physical beauty and natural goodness, but that admi…
Chapter 13
A junior officer named Squeak, who works under Claggart, has been feeding Claggart false reports about Billy. Squeak assumes Claggart hates Billy and invents stories to please his…
Chapter 14
An unknown sailor approaches Billy at night and tries to recruit him into some kind of mutinous scheme, offering him money.
Chapter 15
Melville steps back to discuss the Dansker's character more fully. The old man has lived long enough to see how things go on ships and in the world, and he has learned to keep his…
Chapter 16
Claggart brings his accusation against Billy to Captain Vere, claiming Billy is plotting a mutiny. Vere is skeptical but decides he must confront Billy directly.
Chapter 17
Vere summons both Billy and Claggart to his cabin. Claggart repeats his accusation to Billy's face.
Chapter 18
Vere calls a drumhead court, a fast military tribunal, to try Billy immediately rather than waiting to reach port. He is the one who pushes for this urgency.
Chapter 19
The court finds Billy guilty and sentences him to death by hanging, to be carried out the next morning. Vere goes to Billy's cell and tells him the verdict himself.
Chapter 20
At dawn, Billy is brought on deck for the hanging. His last words are a blessing for Captain Vere, not a curse.
Chapter 21
The drumhead court convenes to try Billy for the killing of Claggart. Vere controls the proceedings, steering the officers toward a guilty verdict even as they seem reluctant.
Chapter 22
After the verdict, Vere meets privately with Billy to tell him the outcome. The narrator does not describe what is said, but notes that Vere may have suffered more in that meeting…
Chapter 23
The night before the execution, Billy rests under guard on the upper gun deck. The chaplain visits and finds Billy already at peace, which leaves the chaplain with little to offer.
Chapter 24
At dawn, Billy is brought to the main yard to be hanged. His last words are a blessing for Captain Vere, spoken clearly and without bitterness.
Chapter 25
After the hanging, the ship's surgeon and officers discuss the unusual stillness of Billy's death. The surgeon offers a clinical explanation but admits it is strange.
Chapter 26
Billy is hanged at dawn. The execution is carried out with unusual calm, and the crew watches in silence.
Chapter 27
The surgeon and purser debate the strange circumstances of Billy's death, specifically the lack of any physical convulsion.
Chapter 28
Captain Vere is wounded in a later naval engagement and dies shortly after. On his deathbed, he is heard murmuring Billy Budd's name.
Chapter 29
A naval chronicle from the period gives a brief, official account of the Bellipotent incident. In this version, Claggart is the loyal victim and Billy is the dangerous mutineer wh…
Chapter 30
The novel ends with a sailor's ballad about Billy, composed by his shipmates after his death. The ballad remembers Billy as a good man who accepted his fate without complaint.
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